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木受绳则直

木受繩則直
Mù shòu shéng zé zhí
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 wood becomes straight when marked with the carpenter's line
  2. 2 people improve through discipline and standards
  3. 3 the transformative power of correction

Examples

HSK 6
古人早有木受绳则直之说，意在强调规矩的作用。
Gǔrén zǎo yǒu mùshòushéngzézhí zhī shuō, yì zài qiángdiào guīju de zuòyòng.
The ancients said 'wood becomes straight when inked by the line' to stress the power of rules.
HSK 7-9
木受绳则直，金就砺则利，学生也需要严师指点。
Mùshòushéngzézhí, jīnjiùlìzélì, xuésheng yě xūyào yán shī zhǐdiǎn.
As wood grows straight under the chalk line and metal sharpens against the whetstone, students too need a strict teacher to guide them.

Tips

history
From Xunzi's (荀子, Warring States) 《荀子·劝学》 ('Encouraging Learning'): 木受绳则直，金就砺则利，君子博学而日参省乎己，则知明而行无过矣 - 'wood is straightened by the line, metal is sharpened by the whetstone; the noble one studies widely and examines himself daily, so that his knowledge is clear and his conduct without fault.' The founding text of the Confucian case for relentless self-cultivation.
usage
Almost always quoted in the four-character parallel with 金就砺则利. 绳 (shéng) here means the carpenter's inked chalk-line used to mark a straight edge, not a rope.

Stroke Order

木 mù
受 shòu
绳 shéng
则 zé
直 zhí